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Self-Efficacy

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences

Synonyms

Perceived behavior control; Self-efficacy beliefs; Self-efficacy expectations

Definition

Belief in one’s own competences in face of impediments.

Introduction

Self-efficacy is a key construct within several theories and was found in studies to be the strongest predictor of motivation/intention and behavior/action. It was first introduced by Albert Bandura in 1977, originating from his work on social learning. In one of his earlier publications (Bandura and Walters 1963), he focused mainly on self-control, and this laid the foundation for the concept of self-efficacy.

History of Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s own competences to perform a behavior in spite of barriers, e.g., “I am capable of adhering to my exercise schedule in spite of the temptation to watch TV” (from Schwarzer et al. 2011, p. 163). Some definitions also mention that self-efficacy reflects having an influence over events that affect one’s life. This view draws on outcome expectancies,...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Methods, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1, 28759, Bremen, Germany

    Sonia Lippke

Authors
  1. Sonia Lippke
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Correspondence to Sonia Lippke .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

    Christian Jordan

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Lippke, S. (2017). Self-Efficacy. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1165-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1165-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

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